When it comes to saving money, popular concepts include putting aside a portion of your paycheck consistently before paying your expenses, or auto debiting an amount every month into a separate savings account.
But what if you could turn some expenses into more savings? While an unpopular opinion, it’s one that deserves some consideration if you subscribe to the formula the wealthy have used for generations.
The basic principle is that time is money and, hence, you should outsource or increase spending on certain tasks and services to save in the long run and free up more time.
This could, in essence, translate to more value.
Here are five suggestions to consider. Note that some might save you money, others might offer you more time, and not all of them will be applicable to everyone in the same way.
1. High-speed internet
Whether you’re online for work or pleasure, slow loading times for websites, wait times for uploading attachments, or laggy Zoom calls can quickly add up to wasted hours every month.
Imagine losing a client or job worth thousands of ringgit simply because you’re trying to save RM30-RM50 on your monthly bill.
By having faster internet speeds, even five minutes saved daily would provide an extra 2.5 hours monthly that could be spent doing something more productive.
2. Cleaning service
Everyone has a different definition of a clean home and the frequency and time spent on maintaining that cleanliness.
Assuming you spend one to two hours a week tidying up, cleaning your bathrooms, wiping down your kitchen, and sweeping/mopping floors, you would lose four to eight hours a month.
With an abundance of cleaning services and individuals offering part-time cleaning online, you could find someone within your budget to save you up to eight hours monthly.
As a bonus, you’re also contributing to the economy and improving someone else’s life.
3. Laundry service
A washer/dryer would set you back thousands of ringgit, not to mention the cost of electricity.
In a week, you could easily spend one to two hours doing laundry – up to eight hours a month on just this one chore, and that’s not even taking hand washing into account!
It’s never been more affordable or easy to use a laundry service and repurpose those eight hours – an entire workday – into doing something more meaningful.
4. Meal plan
When you factor in grocery shopping, the ever-increasing costs of raw ingredients, the time spent prepping, and the cleanup after, your cost of cooking at home may be higher than you imagined. Even an hour spent daily would cost you 1.25 days each month.
Meal-plan subscriptions are popping up everywhere, and you could even approach your favourite food joints and propose a long-term daily food-purchase programme, which might come with a discount.
You’ll basically get an extra day off monthly by choosing to have your meals cooked for you.
5. E-hailing service
Add up your car payment, insurance, petrol, tolls, time spent parking, the occasional “saman”, maintenance, and daily commute, and you may wonder why Malaysians still put themselves through all that pain.
Just sitting in traffic for one to two hours daily each way accounts for up to 80 hours wasted every month.
Using an e-hailing service offers a set expense with fewer surprises, and the option of pooling rides with friends or co-workers to cut costs even further.
Even being stuck in traffic would be less stressful if you are able to nap, or use the time to catch up on work or with friends and family.
Bonus: Moving
If it’s an option, moving closer to your workplace would offset any increase in housing expenses by freeing up the time you would spend on daily commutes, and/or saving on travel expenses.